Devil May Cry: Kryptonite
by Twilit Guardian
Summary: He's always protected her, always been there for her... Why is it so hard for her to do the same? DxL. Rated M mostly for language.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry, Dante, Lady or anything related to the series… I do have a little demon-cat though, so, eh, close enough.**

**P.S. I also don't own Kryptonite.**

**Rated M: Violence, Blood, Strong Language**

_**Devil May Cry: Kryptonite**_

_Well, I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind_

_I left my body buried somewhere in the Sands of Time_

_But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon_

_I feel there is nothing I can do_

The mission was simple enough. It was the kind Dante liked to call a 'search and kick ass' As the name suggests, all they had to do was find the demons and kick their sorry asses back to Hell. Easy as pie, or strawberry sundae as the case may be.

Normally Dante would've had no problem with it, but as Lady had been the one to make the request, he felt obligated to give her a hard time.

"Remind me again: why the hell did I let you drag me here?" the hybrid of a devil hunter asked.

Lady scoffed. "You should be happy for any job I give you, you ungrateful bastard. Your debts aren't getting any smaller."

"Well maybe if you gave me something other than a shit job…"

"Oh, just shut it, moron," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I am not a moron," Dante said, whining like a little kid. "…idiot."

Lady cast him a look, as if to say, _Really?_ Her reply, however, was, "Bastard."

"Bitch."

"Half-breed."

"Human."

Odd as it may be, of all the insults, both hated most that which simply stated what they were. There was nothing Dante loathed more than being reminded of his demonic blood and Lady couldn't stand anyone calling her 'human.' It made her sound weak. Anyone else and they would've had a bullet through their skull or a sword in their heart in three seconds flat, however they made exception for each other, though, admittedly, Dante still got the occasional bullet.

Roughly six years since Temen-Ni-Gru and countless missions together; there was little that they didn't know about each other… and thus exploit to piss the other off. Nevertheless, whatever would come, they would always be friends at the end.

_I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon_

_After all, I knew it had something to do with you_

_I really don't mind what happens now and then_

_As long as you'll be my friend at the end_

Their argument, eventually, ended—it may have gone on for quite a while had Lady not lost her patience and shot Dante in the head to finish it and once more when he idiotically started to protest again. It really was a common outcome where the two of them were involved.

Then, Lady gave Dante a full briefing; before, she'd called him and told him to 'get his ass over here,' giving him only sparse details as to the actual job.

The mission was to take out a nest of demons that had taken up refuge in an abandoned half-way house in Elanay's outskirts—Dante couldn't help but comment it could never be a 'friggin' sunshiny meadow, always a friggin' shithole instead'; this earned him another shot. Lady had scoped the area out and knew the devils were nothing special, just some Sins—the most basic demons. A couple Avarice, a few Gluttonies, and maybe a Wrath or two.

Still, Lady had a feeling that something was going on that went deeper than those peons, so she'd invited Dante along; like it or not she knew he was the better fighter—not that she'd ever admit that to him—and better safe than sorry. If nothing else, she could always use him as a half-human shield.

They went in, Lady leading the away as Dante sauntered lazily behind. Lady jumped at every creak from the floorboards. Her hybrid companion jokingly mocked her for it—he hadn't even _loaded_ Ebony or Ivory yet—which would have earned him yet _another_ shot, save that Lady wanted to conserve her ammo.

The pair of demon hunters found the devils with minimal difficulty and managed to kill them all without much fuss in a flurry of cold steel and hot lead. Dante swung Rebellion around and onto his back with a grunt.

"Damn… Couldn't've done that on your own? If you're gonna bother me, 'least give me something harder to work with. Been ages since I've had a challenge."

As if on cue, the ground beneath them began to quake. They had just enough time to jump out of the way as the floor split open to reveal what was doubtlessly the king of the nest.

Standing over fifteen feet tall with scales of deep green decorated by orange streaks, its eyes glowed with an eerie yellow-green light. Its claws were like over-sized daggers and its monstrous fangs dripped with a thick, acidic venom. Its tail was long and whipping, adorned with a sickle-like blade. This was Balair, one of Hell's many lords.

Lady raised an accusing eyebrow at Dante, as if blaming him for Balair's appearance, and asked, "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," he replied and Lady was pretty sure he meant it. He grinned wolfishly. "This is what I live for!" Dante yanked his guns from their holsters and jumped straight at the devil with a shout of: "Jackpot!"

_"I swear, sometimes I think he's trying to get himself killed," _Lady thought to herself, with just a hint of concern, before joining the fray with a storm of gunshots.

The battle continued for more than half an hour—the half-way house, decrepit before, was now on the verge of collapse—though it felt like far more. Yet, the hunters made no progress. Nothing they did seemed to so much as scratch it; even the Kalina Ann's missiles did nothing. Likewise, Balair made no progress on Lady and Dante as their smaller size afforded them greater agility with which to avoid the hulking beast's attacks.

Finally, there was a shift as Lady fired the last rounds of her last guns, pulling the triggers of her dual machine guns in vain. Balair made a swipe at her with his claws and Dante, dodging the beast's tail, could do nothing to stop it. Lady was sent flying into what remained of one of the half-way house's stone walls. She was dazed by the impact, lying still for a few moments, her mind blank. She was bleeding from four light gashes in her stomach made by his claws; in this she was fortunate as the blow had been powerful, but had only glanced her.

The sickle blade crept toward her. Dante was too far away to help… at least, as he was.

To save her, he'd have to become that which he hated most, to reveal a side of himself that he'd prayed she'd never have to see.

He would have to release his inner demon.

_And if I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

There was a flash of red and an explosion of heat, as if a great fire had just burst into being. Balair screamed in pain as the force knocked him back, his tail passing harmlessly over Lady's head, missing by more than a foot.

Lady groaned and stirred, but dazed as she was didn't take immediate notice of Dante's transformation. She sat up, reaching to the holsters at her waist, forgetting they were empty. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

In between she and Balair stood another devil. This one was also covered in scales, though its were of a deep and pure scarlet, much like blood. Covering its head was a white crest, reminiscent of human hair, though more a sick parody than a parallel. At its back spread a pair of navy-black bat wings and its eyes glowed an icy blue. Its fingers were black and pointed, looking to be more of charcoal-tipped talons. In that clawed grasp was Rebellion.

_"Dante?"_

The demon glanced back at her, its glowing eyes briefly meeting hers and seeming to wince at her tone and the shock and horror that she knew must be written clearly across her face. But, try as she might, Lady couldn't stop staring at him. She'd known Dante was half-demon and thus had a demonic form, but this was nothing like she'd expected. She'd always thought that he would look more… human.

Balair swung at Dante just as the half-breed turned back to the fight. He caught the attack with one hand and used the other, the one holding Rebellion, to lop off the demon's arm. Balair recoiled, shrieking his pain and rage to the skies as viscous, black blood oozed from the stump that was his shoulder. Gathering his power, Dante lunged forward, punching the demon in the gut as he unleashed a blast of demonic power. Balair, much as Lady before him, was blasted into the half-way house's wall, though unlike Lady his size caused the wall to collapse, effectively crushing the demon lord.

Dante turned back to Lady, intending to check on her. However, as he made his first step, Lady—without thinking—whipped out a long survival knife, her last resort. Blades don't run out of bullets. Ironically, she'd learned that from Dante.

Dante tried to speak, ask her, nonchalantly, what the hell she was doing, but all that came out was a low, menacing growl. Lady raised her knife. Dante held up his hands in confusion; he'd sounded fine to his own ears. The sight of his hands gave him pause and set him straight. His fight with Balair, however brief, and the concern he'd felt for Lady had made him forget what he'd allowed himself to become. His hands clenched to fists and he looked away.

Lady felt stab of guilt; she'd promised him a long time ago that his being half-demon didn't bother her. So much for that.

He'd always been there for her. From Temen-Ni-Gru and demon hunting to helping her when she was hurt to just making her laugh he'd never let her down.

She was pointing a knife at him.

_You call me strong, you call me weak_

_But still your secrets I will keep_

_You took for granted all those times _

_I never let you down_

Lady couldn't count the number of times that Dante had saved her life. At times she couldn't help but wonder if he held her in disdain for her human failings, but the suspicion had always been quickly dispelled. He was always happy to see her and eager to prolong her visits, even if he didn't show it.

If he could get past their differences in heritage, vast as they were, why couldn't she? The answer was rather simple, she realized.

He was strong, and she was so very weak.

_You stumbled in and bumped your head_

_If not for me then you'd be dead_

_I picked and put you back on solid ground_

Her arm dropped back to her side and the knife slipped numbly from her hand. "Dante…" she began, guilt and regret mixing in her voice, heart twisting painfully. He didn't look at her. The back of her throat ached. "Dante, I—"

She was cut off by a sudden explosion of debris as Balair erupted from his hiding pace in the rubble, arm missing but very much alive. Before either hunter or huntress could react, his tail shot out and pierced Dante's chest.

In that instant the world seemed to stop in that old, abandoned half-way house. Nothing moved, no one stirred. Lady stared uncomprehendingly at Dante; he was supposed to be invincible. Even in his transformed state without the ability to express emotion via facial cue, Dante seemed shocked.

Balair was the only one unaffected. He held his position only to maximize the pain, then he twisted his tail and jerked it from out Dante's chest.

For a moment Dante continued to stand. Then, there was a sudden rush of cold and he was briefly surrounded by a black nimbus, as if that same fire of before had just been extinguished. When these had faded, there was only Dante with blue eyes and white hair, bleeding heavily. He fell to his knees. He turned to look at Lady once more. She was watching him with horror again, though this was of a different kind than before. Dante gave a deep, wet cough and blood stained the floor. He collapsed, unconscious or dead. Lady couldn't tell.

Balair made a sickening, wheezy sound and Lady realized he was laughing. Looking at her fallen companion, her best friend—only friend, really—and hearing that disgusting sound, Lady got angry. She'd never realized how much she cared about Dante… and that bastard, that fucking piece of shit, had just taken him away from her. Before she could apologize, tell him his demonic half didn't matter, really mean it this time.

Balair moved toward Dante, either to finish the job or mangle the corpse; it didn't matter, not to Lady. There was no fucking way that that _thing_ was going to lay a claw on Dante, not while she was alive.

Lady grabbed her knife and charged.

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

Balair, preoccupied as he was with the idea of killing the Son of Sparda and mashing his body to a pulp, didn't notice Lady and even if he had, he probably would've ignored her. What could a pathetic, little human do to a demon lord like him?

Lady, reaching her formidable foe, tried unsuccessfully to jam her knife into Balair's side. The blade deflected harmlessly off of his scales, but it was enough to get his attention.

As if she were a fly, Balair attempted to swat her away with his remaining arm. Lady took this chance to latch on. Balair tried and failed to shake her off, and giving up, raised his arm before his face to look at her. Seizing the opportunity, Lady leapt from his arm, onto his snout and drove her survival knife straight through his eye and into his brain.

Balair began flailing about again and Lady clung to his snout, body pressed up against his slobbering jaws. She was forced to let go and rolled as she hit the ground, narrowly avoiding his stomping feet. Shakily, Lady got to her feet and watched Balair.

He stopped, searching. Blood leaked from his eye, coating the knife still embedded therein. His good eye fell on Lady and he reached out for her with is good arm, stepping forward...

Then he fell down flat. Balair, a demon lord of Hell, was dead.

Lady gazed at him for a minute, making sure he would stay down this time. When he didn't move she turned to Dante. She took a few steps toward his limp form and stopped. The world swam and spun before her eyes. She became aware of a burning in her abdomen. She brushed her torn shirt with her hand. When she brought it back up, the back had small streaks of blood and a greyish, translucent fluid. Balair's venom.

Knowing, she had no chance of walking to him, Lady dropped to her hands and knees and started to crawl.

Less than a yard away, her arms and legs gave way and her mind slowly slipped into darkness. The last thing she saw was the white-haired, gun-wielding half-breed that she had come to care so much about.

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite, yeah_

Lady awoke from a fitful sleep. She sat up, confused. _"…A dream…?"_ Her hand instinctively went to her stomach and she felt a layer of bandages. _"No…" _

Trying to force her muddled mind to work, Lady took careful stock of her surrounding and herself. She was in a familiar room, but she couldn't figure out where she knew it from. It was messy, clothes strewn about and magazines spread haphazardly across the nightstand and floor. As for herself, she still wore the same clothes as when she fought Balair, though her shirt had been cut somewhat raggedly just below the breast. The bandages were applied in the way of one accustomed to working as a field medic, rather than a professional EMT or doctor.

Still puzzled, Lady looked around again, this time noticing a pizza box by the door. That answered a few questions, and raised a couple as well.

She was in Dante's room at the Devil May Cry—she'd been up here a few times to wake him for a job. That meant that he must also have been the one that bandaged her wounds—he'd cut her shirt to preserve at least some of her modesty; he did it often if she had abdominal injuries, though it always struck her odd considering his personality—and brought her here… but then, where was he? Usually, if she was knocked out on the job, he'd patch her up, bring her back to her place and wait for her to awaken before leaving.

A fearful shiver ran down her spine. What if Dante hadn't brought her here? What if he was dead? It was possible that Trish may have been in the area, sensed Balair's demonic aura or heard the commotion, and gone to investigate. She may have found Lady alive, but Dante…

The thought of Dante being dead was odd to say the least. He was just so… untouchable. Hell, she shot him in the head on a regular basis. And Trish had told her about the day she and Dante met… and of course there was the incident with Arkham and Virgil, and the time with Mundus, and Abigail, and so many others. Was it even possible that such a petty demon—in comparison— as Balair could kill him?

Her fears were quickly assuaged as Dante peeked his head into the room. Seeing her awake he walked in.

"So… you're awake. How're you feeling?" he asked, though he seemed distracted.

"Fine, but how did you…" she trailed off, not quite sure how to continue.

Dante chuckled without humor. "Survive? Easy. I'm not human. Also didn't hurt that he missed my heart by an inch or two," he added as an afterthought.

"And how am—"

"Rosemary." Lady just stared at him without understanding. "Rosemary," Dante explained, "is used as a demon repellant, but what few people know is that it's also a rather potent antidote for the toxins of most demons. Found that out after a, uh, not-so-friendly encounter with an angry she-devil."

Lady bit back a comment about understanding how she must've felt, but before she could ask another question, Dante went on, saying, "Well then, if you're feeling up to it you should probably get going. Your place is probably better stocked with medical supplies than mine, anyway. Feel free to borrow a shirt," he said, gesturing to the sorry state of her own. He turned to leave.

"Dante, wait," she said, calling him back. He looked back at her. Lady clenched the blanket. "I… I'm sorry."

Dante caught her meaning without further explanation. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Eh. I'm not the prettiest face as a demon. I can understand that it'd freak you out a bit. I mean, it's such a switch from my usual, handsome self."

Lady's anger flared. "Can't you take something seriously for once in your god-damned life?"

He forced down a comment about not getting personal, him being half-demon and therefore literally 'god-damned.' He instead explained, "I am being serious… I understand. There's no reason to make a big deal about it. Hell, my demon form even creeped Trish out a little, when she first saw it."

"Then why'd you practically push me out the door just now?" Lady was surprised he really was being sincere, but, whatever he said, she could tell that he'd relaxed when she'd apologized.

"Figured you might need some time to get used to the idea of that being me and that it'd be best to give you your space."

"Oh, please. You're not half as scary as you think you are, half-breed."

"You're one to talk, human."

A gunshot rang out in the Devil May Cry; Dante had left Ebony on the floor by the bed.

Lady stood slowly, minding her wounds. Dante rubbed his sore forehead, wiping off the blood from his already-healed injury.

"That was for being an idiot," Lady explained. She approached him. When she stood directly in front of him, looking into his eyes and withstanding their confused scrutiny, she leaned up against him and kissed him full-on.

When she pulled away she told him, "And that was for always being there."

Dante smiled, looking, in a rare moment, to be genuinely happy. Mischief returned to his expression a second later.

"Hmm… If that's what I get for being there, then what'll I get for—"

Dante was cut off by the sound of a second gunshot.

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman? _

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

**Author's Note: Well, here you have it. My first DMC fic. Hope you liked it and sorry if the characters are a little off. I did try to keep them within their usual personalities, but at the same time I wanted Dante and Lady together, which is kinda hard with how they usually are. If there were any references some of you didn't get (like Abigail), they're probably from the anime. Anyone think the ending needs a little work? I dunno, I feel like it needs something but I can't figure out what. Kudos to anyone that can guess where I got the idea for the rosemary. **

**Dante's demon form: I wrote this on a computer with no internet—transferred it via flashdrive—and I haven't played the game in about a year, so I couldn't look it up and my memory may be wrong, so sorry if it was kinda inaccurate.**

**Anywho, feel free to drop a Review.**

**-TG**


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